Dark metallic tetrahedrite crystals with golden chalcopyrite on clear white quartz.
Macro photograph of a striated metallic tetrahedrite crystal on quartz.

Tetrahedrite with Chalcopyrite

Tetrahedrite-(Fe) – Cu6(Cu4Fe2)Sb4S13
Elements: Copper, Iron, Antimony, Sulfur
Class: Sulfides – Sulfosalts
Crystal System: Cubic
Hardness: 3-4.5
Fluorite
Talc (1)Diamond (10)
Softer than glass. A steel knife scratches it.
Chalcopyrite – CuFeS2
Elements: Copper, Iron, Sulfur
Class: Sulfides
Crystal System: Cubic
Hardness: 3.5-4
Fluorite
Talc (1)Diamond (10)
Softer than glass. A steel knife scratches it.
Origin: Casapalca Mine, Casapalca Huarochiri Province, Lima – Peru
Did you know?

Some tetrahedrite carries enough silver to be mined as a silver ore in its own right.

Brassy and gold-flecked, chalcopyrite is the single most important source of copper on Earth, the ore behind most of the metal in modern wiring.

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